Semirigid elastic thread



March 29, 1938- s. ALDERFER SEMIRIGID ELASTIC THREAD Filed March 4, 1937 'III IIIIIIIIIFIIII/(l.

' INV E N To R STEEL/1W; W. Home? ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 29, 1938 UNITED STATES SEMIRIGE) ELASTIC THREAD Sterling W. Alder-fer, Akron,

Andrews-Anette! Company,

corporation of Ohio Ohio, assignor to Akron, Ohio, an.

Application March4, 1937, Serial N0. 128,974

4- Claims.

The present invention relates to the manufacture of elastic thread, such as used in the manufacture of elastic webbing, girdles, corsets or other garments, and for other uses. It is the object of the invention to construct an elastic thread which shall be semirigid in character, that is to say, sumciently rigid so that when woven or knitted into a band or fabric, the finished goods may have a certain rigidity and will resist the tendency "to curl 'or wrinkle which is an objectionable feature in all elastic fabrics or garments. At :he same time the thread is not so rigid as to be uncomfortable or inadaptable for the making of garments of all kinds.

The ends attained by the invention are, so far as known to me, new and novel. The utility of the invention will be apparent to those familiar with the requirements of the garment industry. While the drawing and description of the invention are detailed so as to enable one skilled in the art to'understand and practise the invention, it will be understood that such details are not esential and may be modified within the scope of the invention.

In the drawing is shown the best known or preferred forms of the invention, it being understood that the drawing is greatly enlarged in order that the construction may be shown. Thread made by the use of the invention may be very fl ne indeed and the proportion of the several elements may be varied or changed as would seem to be directed by the requirements of the trade in particular cases.

In the drawing:

5 Fig. 1 represents one form of elastic thread of a partially or semirigid construction;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the thread; and

Fig. 3 is a modified form of thread.

In the views shown in Figs, 1 and 2, the rubber thread of the composite structure is thread which is made by the process described in the Alderier Patent No. 2,054,354. dated September 15, 1936, in which a central textile filler 2 is surrounded by 45 a rubber jacket or envelope 3 made by wrapping a tape of rubber, preferablyvmade from'latex,

about the filler while the tape is under tension.

This type of thread is selected as it has certain improved properties, but it will be understood that 50 the invention is not limited to the use of this thread as the core member, as any form of rub- 1 'ber core may be employed. Nor is it essential that the rubber core be made from latex, as any rubber thread may be used for this purpose.

The semirigid property is imparted to the thread by superposed wrappings of a flexible tape such as shown at 5 and 6, these tapes being wrapped spirally as shown, with the spirals in opposite directions. The tapes may be spirally wrapped in the same direction, but it is essential in such case that the spirals break joint, that is to say, that the edges of the tapes be out of register. In the case of the oppositely directed spirals shown in the drawing, the edges of one tape cross the edges of the other tape throughout 10 the entire wrapping. By having the wrappings out of register by either method described, one set of spirals reinforces the other, and the'fiexi bility of the structure is thus reduced or limited to the requisite amount, whereas if only one 15 wrapping were applied, or if the edges of the wrappings were in register, the desirable semirigidity would not be secured. 7

It is apparent that the material selected should possess certain properties and that many mate- 2o rials are not adaptable for the purpose set forth. I have found that the ideal material for the purpose set forth is a tape made from a regenerated cellulosic sheeting such, for example, as that made and sold under the trade name Cellophane. This material possesses sufllcient rigidity to reinforce and stifien the thread to the required extent and yet is sufliciently flexible so that garments made from the material are easy and comfortable to the wearer and are not objectionably stifi. Materials similar to Cellophane may also be employed, such, for example, as cellulose acetate sheeting.

Thesheeting is cut into narrow tape form and wrapped about the central core with sufiicient tension so as to make an outer jacket which will impart the requisite rigidity without making the resultant thread too rigid for the purposes. It is obvious that the degree of tension employed and the width of the tape will be factors in de- 40 terminlng the rigidity of the resultant thread.

These elements may be modified in accordance with the specific properties required for any thread which is to be made.

Any outer covering of Cellophane on the thread would be objectionable in-a garment because of the harshness of this material to the body, and it is desirable to cover the thread with one or more wrappings of a textile thread 8, such as cotton, silk or rayon, and this wrapping is spirally applied in either direction. If the two wrappings of tape are applied in one direction, then the thread should be applied in the opposite direction. Instead of spirally wrapping the thread about the outside of the jacket, the outer covering may be braided or otherwise applied thereon.

It is possible to secure the relatively stir! outer Jacket by applying a single tape in overlapping form as shown at I! in Figure 3. In this case the edges to the tape overlap or break Joint so that the semirlgid structure is obtained. An over-wrapping of thread 8 is also employed-in this form.

The semirigidity-of the composite thread has created a new and valuable commodity, for it has been impossible heretofore to secure a thread which is elastic and has sufllcient flexibility to resist wrinkling or curling and yet is not so still as 'to be uncomfortable and non-adaptable for use in the manufacture of elastic garments. Garments made from this material, however, are not perceptibly stiffer than garments made from the ordinary or standard elastic threads.

The arrangement of the cellulosic tape should be such-that the edges 01' the tape shall break joint at all times and even when under such tension as may occur in use, for if the overlying layers are not out of register at all times, the

elastic webbing or the like and being semirigid so as to resist curling or yvrinkling, said thread comprising a rubber core and a plurality of spiral bility to be adapted tor-the manufacture of gar-' ments, elastic webbingror the like and being semirigid so as to resist curling or wrinkling, said thread comprising a rubber core, a plurality of spiral Wrappingsv ofltape made from cellulosic sheeting surrounding the core with-the joints in said wrappings out of register to impart the requisite rigidity to the thread, and a textile covering about the outside of the thread. v

3. An elastic thread sumciently flexible to be adapted for elastic garments, comprising a rubber core and a jacket surrounding the core consisting of a plurality of layers of cellulosic tape wrapped about the core with the joints of said wrappings in non-registering relationship, the tape imparting suflicient rigidity to enable the garment to resist curling or wrinkling.

4. An elastic thread sufliciently flexible to be adapted for elastic garments, comprising a. rubber core, a jacket surrounding the core consisting of a plurality of layers of cellulosic tape wrapped about the core with the joints of said wrappings in non-registering relationship, the tape imparting suflicient rigidity to enable the garment to resist curling or wrinkling, and an outer textile jacket surrounding the thread.

STERLING W. ALDERFER. 

